Portsmouth take on Bolton Wanderers on Tuesday night in a high-pressure League One affair.
But the third tier of English football is a far cry from when the duo were regularly playing, and mostly over-achieving, in the Premier League. The 2000s saw the pair spend seven seasons competing alongside each other at the top table in what were halcyon days for both clubs.
Each qualified for European football, whilst Pompey famously won the FA Cup in 2008, four years after Bolton had reached the League Cup final. But both have suffered sharp declines in the ensuing years. Portsmouth exited the top flight in 2010, Bolton followed two years later. Those drops were just two of seven combined relegations that saw both teams eventually plummet to League Two.
Happily for both sets of supporters, each club is on a much sounder footing now with Bolton in their first season back after promotion last term.
Despite this being their first year back, Wanderers were among the bookmakers' favourites for promotion. To that end, Tuesday's meeting at the University of Bolton Stadium is a pivotal clash but it does appear Ian Evatt's side have left it too late to gatecrash the play-offs.
Victory on Tuesday would still leave them with plenty to do in pursuit of a top-six berth as they are currently 11 points shy with only six games to play. Patchy form has been their downfall this season, with two separate runs seeing them go five games without a win. Saturday saw Wanderers snatch an impressive point at title-chasing Wigan but Evatt refused to accept that as the end of their play-off bid.
"Whether it is or isn’t (the end of top-six quest) I don’t know the answer to that but while there is mathematically a chance we will carry on fighting to the end," Evatt said. "Wigan are top of this division for a reason and this was always going to be a benchmark for where we were and I think we have shown now that we can compete against the best teams in this division and give ourselves an opportunity.”
As for Pompey they are also 11 adrift of sixth-placed Sunderland, but crucially have played two games fewer than Bolton and all of the other play-off contenders.
Their problem has been too many draws, with Danny Cowley's side racking up 11 stalemates, whilst a two-month winless run at the start of the calendar year has also set them back. Tuesday's match will be Pompey's first outing in 17 days and Cowley will be wary for his players to shake off the ring rust early doors. His side haven't found the back of the net in almost five hours' play either, so will be keen to rectify that as soon as possible.
Victory for either side on Tuesday will not guarantee them a top-six tilt in a congested play-off fight. But defeat will almost certainly spell the end of any promotion dreams for another season, as both clubs plot a long-term journey back to the top.
